Guess Who's Coming to Radio??!!

A show with a goal to address the sociopolitical issues pertaining to Afrikan peoples in this country (black people), from a younger person's perspective.

The discussions will be combined with positive and political music of various genres, as composed and performed by a long line of descendants. It will feature book highlights, guests who contribute to pro-activity in their respective communities and an opportunity for the listening community to become involved in conversations, by calling in. Let's liberate our minds through the airwaves!!

as you may know, we will be taking a 6-month hiatus, as we are taking a long-awaited jiu jitsu training... so this final 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' (before our hiatus) in the first hour will be primarily dedicated to martial arts derived from the afrikan sensibility (such as capoiera), as well as honoring people such as jim kelly. in the second hour, we will be playing a few of our favorite songs, as well as opening up the phones to your comments, as well as any positive solutions you've made in your life.

the film 12 years a slave has been the subject of conversation for many, in light of the film winning a major 'best picture' award; as well as what some claim to be a counterpoint to films such as django unchained. lupita nyong'o, one of the stars of the film, made an impassioned speech at an event held by essence magazine. in the speech, she spoke of her experience as a child of a darker hue, and the cultural and social isolation which stemmed from that experience. while the speech was inspiring on a very emotional and rudimentary level; a proper contextual analysis of the origins of her pain are sorely ommitted from her speech, and speeches like it.

we want to thank you for being there, being part of this humble community as we navigate through this journey in community radio together... we at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' want to share the gift of music with you, of a specific artist many of you have asked about after hearing her on our show a few weeks back- RACHELLE FERRELL. despite her success as a touring artist around the world; despite her well-received albums; despite her range of experience and abilities (from teaching alongside dizzy gillespie to working with george duke), she appears to be unknown to many, particularly in the states.

we are here once again at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' for another winter drive; this time we are exploring the works of QUINCY JONES. mr. jones' work has spanned years and genres- everyone from leslir gore, dinah washington, patti austin to, of course, michael jackson (our teacher).

come celebrate that variety with us, as we celebrate another year of community radio!

many cities around the world have been feeling the effects of what is widely known as gentrification (which is traditionally defined as: "the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.") portland of course is no stranger to that, with its long history of displacing not only working class and low-income folks, but thriving black communities as well, due to factors such as imminent domain.

Audio

we spoke with andy allo, currently a member of the new power generation (headed by prince); however, she has recently released a second album, entitled 'superconductor'. for more information check out http://alloevolution.com. we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with her (which was about everything from the nature of true learning, hair, music and consciousness, and more), and we hope you will as well.

we had a chance to speak with leni stern, who will be in portland at the camilia lounge on the 1st of november, 2013. ms. stern is currently a resident of new york city, by way of munich, germany. her music is inspired by the mother continent so much that she made a life-changing decision to travel there, and ended up working with the great elders, such as salif keita and baba maal.

"Five consecutive wins of Gibson’s Female Jazz Guitarist of the Year might make anyone hunker down and focus on going ‘six for six’. But Leni Stern has always defied expectations, and her diverse, 20-year career in music is a textbook example of growth under a self-imposed fire. From the expert instrumentalist, a singer-songwriter emerged, with observations to share from her travels throughout the world. Stern adds: “Why deny the impulse to put words to these experiences? I couldn’t think of a reason.”"

royce lovett will be in portland (at the camilia lounge) on the 2nd of november; we had a chance to briefly speak with him about what inspired him, as well as his life's philosophies.

lovett, who emerges from florida is indeed refreshing amongst a generation and era of people who make music and art playing with negative imagery or a lower consciousness. according to his site (http://roycelovett.com/), he:

"says that his music is all about “letting my beliefs shine through my message and talking about real issues.” In his own words, his goal of his music is to “tap into the intellect and inspire change, because music doesn’t change people. People change people.” Royce says his music conveys a positive, upbeat image that anyone who loves music can appreciate. He writes his own songs and they feature a wide variety of topics, but mostly on love “in all forms, from friendly love, love for your brother, or romantic love.”"

here is the full interview we did with randall sullivan, author of untouchable: the strange life and tragic death of michael jackson. sullivan is also the author of the price of experience and the miracle detective. he was an editor at rolling stone magazine for over 20 years.

how i view michael certainly appears to be different than how mr. sullivan views him (i mean, he is my teacher! everyone who knows me already knows my perspective). however, i cannot take away whatever experience he has had, because it's his. i consider my experience with mr. sullivan to have been quite positive and educational.

i grew up on vinyl since i was in my mother's womb... when i became conscious of what the physical format of vinyl actually was, i recognized that this medium which stored sounds was a healing mechanism- it was used to calm the soul after a fight, or just to recapture memories.

i used to purchase music on my own all the time, but it wasn't until i was 15 years old when i truly started seriously COLLECTING vinyl. some time after this initial point my first musical teacher (after my mother) was a man named pat. longo; he was quite patient with me as i sat wide-eyed and eager, simply listening to him share information and histories of different record labels. he'd wax poetic on the mechanisms of certain producers, arrangers and artists. it was the first time i had actually heard someone speak in depth about the SCIENCE of music- i was hooked for life. he'd put that needle on the first track and INSTANTLY knew what i liked. the shop he worked at (owned by the inimitable robert cohen), finyl vinyl, was filled with internationally known producers and DJs, as well as long-time music enthusiasts. i will always love and honor him for teaching me and making me feel welcome in this world- and we are still friends today, after almost 20 years.

in 2009, pat. was featured in a site called called dust and grooves, dedicated to featuring vinyl enthusiasts and collectors. he introduced me to the 'curator' of the site, eilon paz, who has started a kickstarter page to raise money for a book he is self-publishing. paz describes himself as having:

"moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2008 after having a successful career as a photographer in Israel. I decided to move to NY to evolve, expand, and progress as a professional photographer. As a working photographer, I was always on the look out for personal projects to nourish my creativity, and since I’m primarily a portrait photographer, I was looking for a subject matter that will fulfill my passion for photography and music. I was always collecting records, but back home it was very limited. When I arrived to NY suddenly the sky was the limit. People were digging for vinyl records everywhere. It suddenly made sense that there is a whole scene here that could and should be documented. This gave me a whole new inspiration for a personal project."

as a person who is a collector of vinyl (who is obsessed with looking at others' collections), as well as a person who has majored in photograhy (i studied under the great jazz photographer roy decarava); paz' project is something which intrigues me. it was definitely a pleasure to speak with him, as it's easy to feel the passion in which he feels for his work.

take a listen, watch and enjoy. and check out what the kickstarter project (which ends 10 august 1012) entails, as well as paz' dust and grooves site.

i have had another fortunate experience to have experienced another- i'll just say it- student of michael... it's a very lonely place out there for people who are truly serious about studying the teacher. even though my focus has more to do with michael OUTSIDE of performance; whenever i see others who have a keen intrerest in what the teachings mean, i feel compelled to contact them.

moses harper is such a person. when i saw her dancing (she won the apollo over, and if you know anything about the apollo, then you know that it's a tough crowd), i saw there was an element to her that i rarely, if ever, see in others who dedicate their lives to 'michaeldance'- she put HERSELF in it. with that, i knew there was more to her than just michael. you see, to be a student of michael, it's important to be a well-rounded person. i say this because the teachings go far beyond michael's physical casing. he just happened to be here on earth, and was one of the few who truly embodied the teachings. we all have the ability to, but many of us are scared.

what are the teachings? moses and i discuss some of the elements of the teachings... the basis of our conversation has to do with michael; we also speak on sociopolitical issues, art and culture.

who is moses harper? moses has dedicated her life to the teachings, not only through dance, but through speaking engagements, working with the youth, poetry, hip hop and film production and direction. she has a BA in music (majoring in studio composition) from SUNY purchase; and is involved with 'thrill the world NYC' (you know, the event had all around the world annually, where thousands of people do the 'thriller' dance all at once). she is the director of a film called 'love fit to box', a story following a journey of two siblings: a brother and a sister (who has made the decision to tell her family she was gay). the brother looks within himself to see things from his sister's perspective.

he decided to look at 'the man in the mirror'. you see? the teachings are everywhere.

for more information on moses harper, or to contact her, you can find her here:

i first saw this incredibly beautiful woman on youtube, speaking of health, inside and out, and connecting it with the womb. nubia sutton was her name, and instantly i felt compelled to connect with her. how often does one feel compelled to connect with someone they see on a video? i don't know the answer to that (besides energy); i know for me, it is very rare. i am completely fortunate that i did make that decision to make the steps to reach her. when we spoke, immediately we connected- not only due to our both growing up in brooklyn, new york; but also in our desire to seek truth through learning and sharing information and pro-activity.

in this conversation we speak on herbs and medicines, self-healing, food/diet, spirituality and religion, connection to the ancestors, hair, and more!

we spoke with alicia jackson and ahjamu umi on the 'foreclosure movement' in portland, oregon, particularly as it pertains to afrikan/black people... what are some pro-active steps to take regarding this issue?

you were there (live at sammy6 davis jr.'s 60th anniversary programme)

jackson 5

let it be (portion, live)

michael jackson and paul mc cartney

the man

pipes of peace

columbia

michael jackson

someone in the dark

E.T. storybook

MCA

jackson 5

killing me softly (live)

michael jackson

scared of the moon

ultimate collection

epic/sony

michael jackson

carosel

thriller (2001 special edition)

epic

the simpsons

do the bartman (instrumental loop)

7"

geffen

michael jackson

bad (false fade mix)

12"

epic

jackson 5

get it together (4 hero remix)

soul source: jackson 5 remixes

universal/polygram

michael jackson

don't stop till you get enough (jamilah's quick mix)

original album: off the wall

epic

jackson 5

dancing machine (monseiur greg remix)

jackson 5

dancing machine (elias damian remix)

michael jackson

billie jean medley

original album: thriller

epic

the jacksons

your ways

triumph

epic

michael jackson

love never felt so good

la toya jackson

nighttime lover (instrumental loop)

original album: la toya jackson

polydor

tonght we honor the life and legacy of teacher and (it's still hard to say) ancestor, michael jackson...

if you have any questions, comments or musings/memories of michael, please contact us here at the 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' page; and if there are enough comments we will create a blog space...

Comments

Hi Jamilah,Loved the show tonight - I was really struck by Chris' story and how ridiculously the Portland police handled his situation. It makes me concerned for the future of civic-minded organizations like Copwatch and NoPo Cop Stop which exist to do exactly what Chris was doing - observe & record police conduct and provide that record as a defense to the people who police accuse of wrongdoing.

Would it be possible for KBOO to post tonight's show or, at least, the fifteen minutes that Chris spoke about his encounter with Portland police on your webpage or myspace page? I would be very interested to listen to it again and pass it along to my friends at Copwatch, if that is okay. I believe the segment ranged between 8:45 pm - 9:00 pm. Please feel free to e-mail me with a response - it would be great to hear from you. Thank you very much for your help, and keep up the excellent work!

Hey I love motown and motown history and it is sorta at the top of my list of interests right now, so if I wanted to offer some insight into your upcoming program, what is the protocol? Is there any way to get involved?

yes, i am actually planning to do another show on motown; i didn't get to fit everything i wanted to fit into the show... my plan is to do something in april. i would like to go more in depth about what i was touching on in the last show... is it possible for a 'person of colour' to be successful in america and not sacrifice or compromise their beliefs? i want to do more in-depth conversations/interviews about that.

i am constantly welcoming people to get involved and have some input for the show, so that is wonderful that you are interested!!! what sorts of things were you thinking about?